ALL EYES ON THE BAKEN
UBports community announces the release of 'Baken' - the Official UBports Toaster
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Ubuntu Touch for Toasters

Pushing the limits of convergence

EDIT APRIL 2, 2018 - THIS ARTICLE WAS AN APRIL FOOLS DAY JOKE ARTICLE - HOPE YOU ENJOYED! - UBPORTS COMMUNITY

Community members from all related departments of the UBports community announced yesterday plans to port Ubuntu Touch (UT for short) to a toaster.
  
Inspired by the original dreams of convergence, the community is definitely pushing convergence further than it ever has been before.  From phones, to desktops and now - to toasters, Ubuntu Touch runs on everything.
"It works nearly flawlessly" smiled excited community member Mark Holmes who heads up the UBports writers group.  "Sure there are a few tiny bugs, but it's way better than I was expecting for such a sudden project." Although excitement is climaxing around the news and developers from all over have started writing code for the new device, not everyone is so positive.  "I was hoping to have Ubuntu Touch running on my Samsung S9 before being able to port to a toaster.  This is ridiculous," complains one forum user.   Joseph Liau (voice of Ubuntu Touch audiocast "Joe In-Here") was also unimpressed.  "Who cares about a toaster?  I want to free my family and friends from google's grip and these developers are making a toaster?"  Community Steering Committee (aka UBAM) head Wayne Taylor responded diplomatically to the complaints with this statement: "We understand the feelings of these community members and we are doing our best to port to as many devices as possible, but the community has clearly decided that toast is a priority. We expect to be back to working on other development within about 6 months." 

So how did the community get Ubuntu Touch running on a toaster so quickly?  Thanks to the efforts of the Halium (Halium.org) community, developers were able to pull from the Android Things stack and libhybris. With all the developers focused on Baken it was just another example of the power of leveraging free/open software community.

If you are like many others in the community, you may be wondering if you can refresh and free up your old toaster by flashing UT onto it.  Regrettably most smart toasters contain proprietary code and therefore currently only Baken is supported.  But don't let that discourage you.  Since convergence is a cornerstone philosophy in the UBports community, plans are already underway to port to other kitchen appliances such as the panini press.  "Because our code stacks are shared, we are well set to be able to port to the panini press with relative ease" says developer Dalton Durst from the Halium community.  "Just imagine when you can get notification on your Ubuntu Touch device that you left your panini press on?" continues Durst.

BAKEN WITH NOTIFICATIONS

Notifications from your Baken being sent to your Ubuntu Touch device

 

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The new (and official) UBtoaster - code named "Baken" will come loaded with features because its code is free and developers are not restrained by corporate agendas and planned obsolence.  Some of the features include, but are not limited to:

Currently Supported in OTA 3 

  • Baken is a privacy-minded toaster; toast away in the knowledge that your illicit addiction to toasted bread will remain completely secret
  • Comes with regular updates
  • Dings when toast is ready
  • Sends notification to the top notification bar
  • It's completely gesture controlled - slide down from the top to run. Slide up from the bottom to access different settings such as how dark you want your toast.
  • Full integration into OS allows a timer to be set right in the native clock app, to automatically cook the toast whenever you require: day, or night.
  • Huge 4GB RAM allows faster processing and up to 8 slices of toast per minute
  • It even works with sourdough - and other legacy breads -  in the container
  • Uses the latest Linux colonel ;)
  • Safe and secure - your toaster won't be hacked
Future features in the works - OTA 4

  • Will integrate into the mesh network when Serval for Ubuntu Touch app is complete for off the grid toasting in case of internet down time
  • Expected to butter the toast for you, and give a layer of your desired jam
  • Advanced GPS propulsion system to eject the toast so that it lands directly adjacent the toaster where a plate can be placed
  • Auto-load function: so there's no more need to reach into tight bread bags
UBUNTU TOUCH AUDIOCAST - 024 - "TROUBLE IN PARADISE"
Community Analysis and Encouragement